SPOTLIGHT
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010, the Navajo Nation is comprised of 173,667 people — Native and non-Native — living on the tribal land in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Of these 173,667 people, there have been 4,434 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of May 22, according to the Navajo Nation Department of Health. The words ‘social distancing’ have been recently controlling many aspects of daily life, but the act of social distancing might not be as easy for Native Americans living on crowded tribal land as it is for other Americans. “For some communities where household density is higher, social distancing inside the home can be a challenge,” says Jennifer Balkus, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington School of
Public Health. She adds, “Native American, American Indian and Alaska Native communities are more likely to include multiple generations within a household,” which can make social distancing harder for these people. When you hear about tuberculosis, you might think of it as a disease that has been eradicated in North America. However, this is not entirely the case.
28
SPRING 2020 | ISSUE TWO
While tuberculosis is very different from COVID-19 and the epidemiology of the two should not be thought of in the same way, Balkus says, “We see a higher incidence of tuberculosis among Native American, American Indian and Alaska Native communities compared to white communities.” Two other types of sicknesses that are spread easily, but not exactly in the same way as COVID-19, are scabies and the chicken pox. Kesha Lea Hanlon Jasper, born member of the Tlingit/Haida tribe in Juneau, Alaska tribe and adoptive member of the Klallam tribe in Sequim, Washington, says that, while she doesn’t remember much about sickness growing up, these two illnesses did come to mind. Illnesses that fall under the same umbrella as tuberculosis can be harder to eliminate when it comes to Native Americans living on tribal land where it is more difficult to stop this kind of illness from spreading. Six Feet Apart, Please Since it’s been established that the social distancing guidelines aren’t as easy to follow on tribal land, it might be helpful to learn tips from those currently living on reservations. Deanna Candice Chief, freshman Social Work major at Heritage University in Toppenish, Washington and Plains Cree Indigenous Indian, says her family practices staying healthy by mak-
